Pentagram
by hehthar
Summary: Original characters based on a generic SBURB storyline. Alternate Universe where the children who play SBURB are a group of five siblings. List of main human characters in order of age: Walker (Knight of Breath, 15), Sean (Mage of Doom, 13), Catherine (Thief of Time, 10), Erin (Rogue of Space, 7), Jasmine (Seer of Heart, 5).
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

The Johannsen family was composed of five children.

Jasmine was only two months old when the visions began. Her eyes would glaze over and her eyelids would droop as if she were fighting sleep. Being so young, she couldn't tell anyone what she was seeing, or that she was seeing anything at all. She would grow to become the Seer of Heart.

The second youngest, Erin, was only two years old when her sister's visions started. She had a grasp on her surroundings that no one else her age could comprehend. Erin would eventually become the Rogue of Space.

The middle child, Catherine, was skeptical of her baby sister's visions. She was also skeptical about this game she was being forced to play with all her siblings. Catherine would become the Thief of Time.

The second oldest sibling and youngest boy was Sean. He would become the Mage of Doom, and would come to the aid of his siblings on more than one occasion.

The eldest child was Walker. He was a natural leader and no one was surprised when he recommended a new game to play. This game was unlike any other, he assured them, and they would love it. He promised. He would become their leader, and the Knight of Breath.

Jasmine was only five when she had to face a world unlike anything a normal five year old should know. But Jasmine had seen this universe in its whole in her visions, and would not be surprised by what she was about to experience in full. Erin, now seven, was sitting on top of the couch in the living room when Walker came out of his room, with the wide-eyed look of plans being made.

Every sibling had the brave, sleek look of Vietnamese descent from their mother, and the look of strong, bold Danish genes from their father. They all had a head of deep brown hair that appeared black in low light.

Erin knew her oldest brother's look well.

"What do you want?" she asked the question with pragmatism, not cynicism.

Jasmine looked up at her brother, eyes expectant and bright. Walker bent down, hands on his knees, to address both of them.

"Wanna play a gaaame?" the fifteen-year-old didn't hide the curiosity in his voice.

"Ask Catherine," Erin replied, wishing to play only if her older sister would.

Sean entered the room from the kitchen, a fresh piece of toast in his right hand. Through chewing breaths, the thirteen-year-old boy mumbled his interest in playing with this new game. Catherine was nowhere to be found.

There was a comfortable, familiar and familial silence that followed, only broken intermittently by Sean's loud chewing sounds.

"CATHERINE!" Walker finally yelled at the top of his lungs, causing Sean to stagger slightly backward with surprise.

Erin's eyes followed Walker out of the room, and she turned to look down at Jasmine, seated on the floor. Her eyes were normal, open, unseeing to any other world but this. She only smiled up at Erin.

Walker explored the halls, with Sean following a few feet behind. He called for his ten-year-old sister over and over, and finally she appeared from a room he had already searched. She scowled skeptically, eyes darting from Walker to Sean and back again.

"There you are," Walker pretended to be exasperated, and with a tone of unmistakable authority, "We're all playing a game."

"What game?" Catherine asked, her hands in her pockets. She remained in one spot while Walker tried to pry her towards the living room with his words. Sean raised his eyebrows and he exchanged a glance with Catherine. He only had to look hopeful enough and she would know that Walker wasn't playing some trick on her.

"A new one," Walker muttered unhelpfully. Catherine finally moved forward, Sean behind them both as they all made their way to the rest of the children.

The same calming silence fell over the children as they each faced one another in an unintentional pentagram formation. Walker smiled as he reached inside his pocket for the disc he was about to show them.

"Ready?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Land of Fog and Lightning_

Five-year-old Jasmine had seen this world before. She had even seen all of her siblings' lands, four years ago, in her sleep. In her waking dreams, her visions were what the doctors had labeled as epilepsy. Jasmine hadn't had any seizures since she entered this world, and she didn't expect to. She pushed through the fog without hesitation. Lightning struck the ground, silent without its thunderous counterpart, bright as a flash of day piercing the night.

Her brothers had shown her how to alchemize before they each stepped into their own worlds and became separated. Jasmine retrieved her favorite item: her fairy princess wand, combined with a syringe filled with her medicine. It looked like a magical weapon, a bright purple star at the top, the handle filled with the pink liquid of her drug. She didn't need to use it, nor did she know how to, but she liked to hold it all the same. It gave her a sense of protection and clarity in the darkness and fog all around her.

Her princess communicator—which used to be a pretend phone, now functional—starting playing its bell-like tune, indicating that someone was trying to reach her. She lifted the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Jazz?" It was the seven-year-old, Erin. She sounded overwhelmed.

"What's that sound?" Jasmine asked quietly.

"What?" Erin shouted into the receiver. She was surrounded by the sound of deep, throaty croaking.

"The giant frogs?" Jasmine answered for her, sure of the vision she had seen when she was younger. Erin had been surrounded by giant frogs the size of buildings. She dismissed this vision, as she always did, until this very moment.

"Yes?" Erin's voice cracked with amazement on the other end of the line. Suddenly, the call ended, and a dial tone replaced the sound of her voice.

Jasmine stared at the receiver, her small hands closing the princess phone. She stared at the starless black sky, her deep brown eyes absorbing the brightness of the lightning around her. It was so quiet that she could hear the sound of her heart beating. Her heart. An organ that never failed her, even if her left brain would. In the five previous years, thirty seizures a day would be a regular occurrence. Her family couldn't see what she did. Still the images both haunted and comforted her to this day.

She took small, delicate steps toward a twisted, fog-covered tree before her. With her medicine wand brandished in front of her, she knew what she had to do. She held the weapon with two hands. She waited.

Time ticked by slowly, mercilessly. She had seen this tree so many times she couldn't remember anything else as she finally stood before it. With two trembling hands, she brought the wand higher, lifting it above her head. She stifled a small cry. Ever since she was born, she knew this day would come.

_Four years ago…_

The Johannsen mother was a strong, brave, small woman. Her sharp features only enhanced the fearless aura she put forth into the world. Though right now, she felt anything but fearless.

Jasmine was having another seizure. The two boys were rummaging around the house, looking for their backpacks. The two remaining sisters were fast asleep in their parents' bed. Mama was overwhelmed. Her remaining peace rested in her God, her husband, her family, and the woman at the door.

Three knocks.

"Come in—"

The woman's name was blocked from Jasmine's memory. She remembered being held by a total of three people when she had her seizures, and two of them were her parents. The third was a young woman with short black hair and green eyes. Jasmine felt this wouldn't be the last time she saw this woman, locked deep within her memories without a name.

_Presently…_

Lightning struck at the large, gnarled tree in front of Jasmine. The electricity traveled in the air, striking Jasmine's medicine wand. This carried over to Jasmine's fragile body, biting at her bones and pulling at her brain. This was the end. She would always be the first to die, and even at five years old, she wasn't afraid. Soon, she would find her siblings and help them do the same. Let their hearts stop and let their souls fly. This was the beginning.


End file.
